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Writer's pictureDave Miller
Mar 17, 20193 min read

Embrace the Ordinary

Updated: Aug 15, 2019

by Dave Miller

Previous Chapter 5.8 | Next Chapter 6.2


Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes,

and see that the fields are white for harvest. - Jesus



Monday morning is here. Life is coming whether you like it or not. You are surrounded by the utterly mundane. You sip on your cup of coffee trying to gather the willpower to get started with another week. You rush to get ready and head out the door to work. Another deadline. Another spreadsheet. Another customer. You come home. As you drive into the garage you wave at the neighbor, pull in, and put the door down. Dinner and dishes lead to picking up toys. You stare defiantly at the basket of laundry. The thought of finding matching socks sends chills down your spine, so you leave it for another day. You watch a little TV, check your Facebook, and repost a useless meme that made you laugh. You talk with your kids and your spouse. You get ready for bed. You do it all over again. Days pass, weeks pass, years pass. You think to yourself, “Is there something more?”

The occasional night out with friends or weekend trip breaks up the monotony. But the actual number of life changing moments is few and far between. There are only a handful of big events in life. Weddings, graduations, promotions, births, or awards pretty much round out the list. Life is ordinary.

Embrace the Ordinary

Christmas tends to be a big event. In our house we spend the month reading through The Jesus Storybook Bible reminding ourselves of the coming baby who would be the Savior of the world. We put up a tree, decorate the house, and answer the “When will we open presents?” question a 1000 times. But for Jesus, the night he was born, while history changing, wasn’t that spectacular. Mary and Joseph joined with thousands of people who went back to their hometowns to be registered in the Roman census. The inns were full so they found a stable with the animals to have shelter during their Bethlehem stay. Mary gave birth there. She was a common woman in a common stable in the middle of a common town. But this moment was in no way common. The Kingdom of God had come and everything was going to change.

Embrace the ordinary.

It is here we find the kingdom of God happening with everyday people in everyday moments. Life as an image-bearing ambassador is not so much about finding an extraordinary life as it is about living an intentional life. Image-bearing ambassadors see life from a new perspective. Every moment is a ministry moment.[1] The most ordinary day can breakout into a spectacular kingdom event at any given time. Suddenly the old can pass away and all things can become new, and few will even notice. We don’t schedule these moments, but we are always looking to be there when they happen.

You have a choice. Embrace the ordinary or escape it. But consider this, in your effort to escape the ordinary through entertainment, addictions, or material possessions you are missing the kingdom opportunities in front of you every single day. The latest Facebook outrage consuming your attention will be forgotten in a week, but the neighbor you waved to while closing your garage has an eternity in the balance. The seventh straight episode of your latest binge on Netflix can hinder you from investing in a disciple-making relationship. Your home could be your greatest kingdom tool instead of your sanctuary to keep the world away. It is all about perspective.

What if the kingdom of God was right in the middle of the part of life you are trying to just get through? Everyday people in everyday moments don’t seem like much, but when multiplied something extraordinary takes place. Your Monday mornings can bring the kingdom of heaven to earth because you are an image-bearing ambassador with a ministry and a message.




Until there's #NoPlaceLeft...

 

[1]Thanks to Jim Gillespie for this phrase.

 

Sentergy: When Jesus, People, Practice and Theology Collide

Chapter 1: The Glory of God

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